PTC annexation request pivots on sewer service

The Peachtree City Council will decide Thursday whether or not to allow an annexation proposal off Ga. Highway 74 south and Redwine Road to be vetted by city staff.

The proposal hinges on hooking up to the city’s sewer system, but the sewer line would extend past the city limits into parcels that are currently in the unincorporated county, a sticking point in the past.

Access to sewer allows for much denser and more intense developments than would be permitted for unincorporated properties now limited to septic tanks.

Currently, the only two public sewer treatment systems in Fayette County are owned and operated by Fayetteville and Peachtree City, and neither allows extension of sewer service past city limit lines.

Southern Pines Plantation Commercial Group of Macon wants to develop a 77-acre tract with two office-institutional buildings and a 90-lot single family subdivision.

Council will consider the initial information submitted by SPP before committing, or not, to a more thorough vetting process led by city staff that would ultimately lead to a council vote on whether or not to annex the property.

SPP’s 77 acres is along the western side of Hwy. 74 bordered by the Brechin Park subdivision, also in unincorporated Fayette County, and is also near the Starr’s Mill school campus.

SPP is proposing for the development to be accessed at the existing traffic light at Hwy. 74 and Redwine Road.

The proposed office development pitched under the latest annexation proposal from SPP would be “in keeping with the nearby medical offices along Hwy. 74 across from the subject property.”

SPP is proposing to include an amenity center and several “pocket parks” and the subdivision would connect to the adjacent Meade Fields recreation area via cart path.

SPP is also proposing to connect to the Peachtree City Sewer System, which is operated by the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority. If that connection is approved, it could ultimately lead to sewer being extended underneath Hwy. 74 to two existing office buildings and beyond to what is now a horse farm also located in unincorporated Fayette County.

The site was rezoned by the Fayette County Commission in 2000 for a mix of retail and office uses but no development has since occurred on the site. The site has been approved for 177,000 sq. ft. of retail and office space.

In 2009 SPP was unsuccessful in petitioning for annexation of 18 acres to grant sewer access for the proposed shopping center.

In 2010, SPP asked the city to annex the entire parcel and rezone it for light industrial use to make way for a company that would be relocating to the area. That project, however, never came to fruition and the property has remained undeveloped.

SPP’s latest proposal does not include a shopping center.

In other business Thursday, council is expected to vote on a proposed variance to allow for construction of the recreation area at Lake McIntosh reservoir that is being built by the Fayette County Water System.

According to city staff, the use requires a variance to the city’s water resources protection ordinance, which requires a 100-foot undisturbed buffer and an additional 50-foot impervious buffer from the normal pool elevation of bodies of water.

The final site plan for the recreation area shows that the majority of the amenities will be located in the watershed protection buffer, according to a memo from city staff.

The park will include boat ramps, two walking trails, a picnic pavilion, a playground, a gazebo and restrooms. In addition to parking for boat trailers, there will also be parking for automobiles and golf carts.

Also, council will vote on a potential change to the city’s charter to add language to the oaths administered to mayor and council members when they take office. The change to the city’s charter will not require action by the legislature, but it must be read at two consecutive meetings, advertised in the county’s legal organ newspaper once a week for three weeks and once adopted by council must be filed with the Georgia Secretary of State and the Clerk of Fayette County Superior Court, according to city staff.

Comments

What can that possibly be about? Are they going to limit the amount of money one can redirect for personal expenses like attorney fees? Maybe a pledge to resign if you are caught lying about your education or work experience. Or is it a promise to be civil to your fellow councilmembers?

No matter what it is, I would like the current bunch to take the new oath the minute it is approved. Only seems fair.

And on the larger issue of the annexation - just do it, but be very, very clear about the quantity of sewer for the project and a specific quantity for service in the expanded area - once it is used up, it is used up. In other words - be professional and follow your attorney's advice.

I don't understand why, Bobby, you are such a whore for expanding sewer. How about we can't afford the City infrastructure we have now and you want to expand it. You sound like Kenny, Jack and the boys talking about the West Fayetteville Road to nowhere. Come on, man, give it up.

expanding the PTC sewer reminds me of two uncles who had a watermelon business. They were buying watermelons for a dollar apiece and selling them for a dollar each. One uncle said to the other, "We ain't making any money off of these watermelons" and the reply was "I know. We need a bigger truck".

Look at the sewer portion of your water bill. Probably doubled in the past couple of years. Now look at that funny little robot traveling through the sewer lines all over the city. Know why that is? Looking for cracks and leaks, locating them so they can fix them. That's going to cost a bundle and they don't have any reserve for that so you will see a rate increase or some bonds issued - probably both.

Now, 2 of the sewer plants are under capacity and the one by the airport that would serve this area could serve at least 500,000 gallons more a day than it does now without expanding the plant - 4 million gallons if they do expand, but of course expansion costs more money. So, you require the developer to extend the sewer lines to his property at his expense, limit his usage to under 500,000 gallons per day and the city winds up with hundreds of new customers paying sewer bills at virtually no cost to the city.

A side benefit of this is that by using most of the unused capacity now, the Wieland annexation years in the future would actually require plant expansion and he could be charged for that (or frozen out) - again no cost to the city for infrastructure.

Doesn't that make more sense and seem more productive than analyzing letters from lawyers to see if Haddix scammed the citizens?

There are no words yet- Councilperson Fleish is going to work on the oath - it will still need to keep the verbage dictated by the state, but she is working to make the rest of it actually mean something.

The pressures of residential on that site in terms of the housing market and municipal service coverage are major concerns. One of the biggest problems will be the proximity to the airport. Residential would be adversely affected by the air traffic and that could later lead to a battle over operations at the airport.

One thing we do need in a big way is more corporate site locations - that could certainly be one of them.